Cut Above The Rest
by LAWchan89
Summary: Mabel's desperate to pass her upcoming history exam and Dipper's promised to do anything to help. Unless it's the oldest twin cliché in the book. But in this disaster waiting to happen, there just might be some insight into each other's lives away from the comfort of their familiar bond that makes it all worthwhile.


"Okay let's refocus, this is an easy one." Fifteen-year-old Dipper Pines leaned forward over the desk his twin sister had long ago abandoned for her much more comfortable bed. Titling the history textbook so its contents were hidden, his eyes shifted upward suspensefully as if he were a game show host about to ask the million-dollar question. "What year was the Treaty of Versailles signed?"

"1912!" Mabel Pines announced confidently, bouncing slightly on the mattress. "The year the Titanic sank and Leonardo DiCaprio died tragically in the icy waters of despair." She finished with a melodramatic wave of her hand to her forehead, just before snapping back to give her brother a thumbs-up.

Dipper winced, "1918."

" _Dang it!_ " Mabel flung her head back and shrieked at the ceiling, as if it were its fault she couldn't remember all these dates and facts. "Ugh...okay, gimme another one."

"Alright…" As Dipper went back to pursuing the book, Mabel narrowed her own eyes intensely as she hunched her shoulders and balled her fists, looking more like she was getting ready for a boxing match than to review for her history final. He had asked her over twenty questions so far and she hadn't gotten _one_ of them right. But as she focused all her brain power past knitting patterns and art books to zero in on her notes from history class, she knew it couldn't be hopeless. She had to remember _something_ , right? "Okay, here's a vocabulary word: What is a dynasty?"

"Yes, I know this one!" she cheered and Dipper brightened hopefully. "It's a disease that a lot of people died from in the 19th century, something to do with inflaming intestines. Symptoms include fever, abdominal pain and diarrhea." Dipper let his head fall on the desk into the crook of his arm, and at first Mabel thought she must have shocked him so badly with her mad memorization skills that he passed out. When he looked up again, he looked equal parts exhausted and irritated.

"That's _dysentery_ , Mabel - _dysentery!_ " He slammed the textbook down and took a deep breath, watching his sister bury her face in her hands. "I'm trying to be patient here, but do you realize you haven't gotten a single question right and the exam is _tomorrow?_ "

"Actually yeah, I was just thinking that in my inner dialogue."

"Is your inner dialogue also reminding you that you currently have a D in the class and that you _cannot_ afford to fail this final or Mom and Dad won't let you go anywhere this summer?"

"I know, Dipper - _geez_!" Mabel snapped at him, all traces of humor gone. "You think I haven't been telling myself this all week?"

"Well then I'd think you'd be a little more committed to this. But you sound like you haven't even opened the book."

"I have!" Mabel insisted, pressing her hands to her chest as her brother turned away from her with a deep frown. "Dipper, I've been looking at this stuff all day - but all the names and dates and definitions get all kerbobbled-y in my head and when I think I know the answer it turns out to be totally wrong. And don't tell me I'm not committed, I gave up watching the season finale of Small Horse Acquaintanceship for your study quiz thingy!" She reached for her stuffed pig and hugged it tight, a plushie that was particularly close to her heart, and Dipper instantly felt bad. Of course he knew his twin struggled when it came to academics, especially exams. He saw the papers marked up in red that she laid down beside his clean thorough work when their parents asked for their grades. He saw how hurt she looked when their father beamed at him and their mother ruffled his hair affectionately, how upset Mabel would be after every single time she was given a twenty-minute scolding about studying harder. But now Dipper's short fuse had gotten the best of him and he'd yelled at her, which was the last thing she needed.

"Sorry," he mumbled, but he meant it. "I know how hard it is."

"No bro, you really don't," Mabel sighed. How could perfect honors student Dipper possibly understand how hard this was? "It's not fair. Why'd you get all the brainy powers and all I got was useless arts and craftsy skills?"

"'Cause those skills are what make you Mabel," Dipper whirled back around in the desk chair to crack a smile at her.

"That doesn't help right _now_!" Far from comforted, she threw herself backwards onto the mattress and covered her face with a pillow, groaning loudly before falling silent.

 _Uh oh_ , Dipper realized, getting up from the chair to sit on the edge of the bed. "Mabel?" he called gently as she curled her knees up to her chest. "Mabel?"

"Mabel's not here," she replied in a muffled monotone. "Please leave a message with the pillow."

Dipper smiled sadly, "Well pillow, tell Mabel I'm going down to get a soda 'cause I'm parched. Then when I come back up, I'm gonna do anything and everything to make sure she passes her exam tomorrow, no matter what. 'Cause she's the smartest person I know."

He had left by the time she moved the pillow away from her face, but she still smiled wanly at the words of that dork she called her brother. He always knew what to say to make her feel better, probably because he knew her better than anyone else did. _Well duh, we're twins_. But aside from their nearly identical round youthful faces and chocolate brown eyes, they were totally different people. They had different interests, different goals, hung out with different crowds. Still did, even after the summer in Gravity Falls a couple years ago that brought them closer together than ever. And no amount of twin bonding was going to change the fact that Mabel was just plain stupid compared to Dipper.

Oh yeah, she heard them alright - Dipper's Advanced Placement classmates whispering behind her back. " _Can you believe she's_ _Dipper's_ _sister?"_ " _She got another F, you could see her hiding the paper." "He must be so embarrassed every time she flunks."_ And their parents were no kinder: " _You're always so silly Mabel, and it's affecting your grades." "You need to start taking your schoolwork more seriously." "Your art and sewing projects come second."_ And the one that stung the worst: " _Why can't you follow your brother's example?"_ Because she wasn't her brother, period.

Sniffling, she brushed away a tear trailing towards her hairline. "I'm never gonna pass that test tomorrow." Dipper told her cramming was a bad option, but she had no choice. She had to get this junk into her head so she could dump it out onto the test paper. But for some reason no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't. The information either all ran together and couldn't sort itself out or she'd forget it almost immediately. Maybe something was just broken inside her. Maybe she just got the short end of the twin stick. One thing was for sure though: When it came to school, she was jealous of Dipper big time, though she'd never admit this to his face.

"What do you think, Waddles?" Mabel asked the affectionately-named stuffed pig beside her, propping her head up on her elbow. "Think a miracle might happen?" Silence. "Me neither. I know it sounds dumb, but sometimes I wish Dipper was a girl and we were identical. Then he could take it for me and he'd ace the thing no problem." Like in the books about twins she read as a kid or the TV show about the twin girls separated at birth, they always pulled the whole switcheroo when things got tough for one of them. Not her and Dipper, you never saw it happen with fraternal boy-girl twins. Even though they had the same skinny body and lanky limbs, even though they were the same height, even though they had the same thick brown hair, hers was just longer-

"Wait a sec!" Leaping up from her prostrate position, she bounded over to the bathroom that separated her and her brother's rooms. Flipping on the lights, she stared at herself in the mirror for a moment. _Not quite._ She grabbed a makeup remover wipe and blotted away the peach gloss on her lips and tiny amount of liner around her eyes and lashes. _Getting warmer._ Taking her hair in her hands, the wavy tresses flowing down to her lower back, she bunched it all up in the back of her head as if tying it into a bun.

She gasped-without all that hair, she was a dead ringer for Dipper. This was it! This was her big switcheroo episode! Dipper would take the test for her, get an A-plus, and her summer would be saved. _You're a genius, Mabel. Thanks, Mabel._

Yanking open the drawer under the sink, she pulled out a silver pair of scissors, and only then did she falter. She loved her hair, all dark and glossy and braidable, it was one of her favorite projects. But it was just hair. It would grow back. This was a permanent red mark on her record that art colleges would see and shake their heads at before sending off her rejection letters. A red mark that, if not rectified, would leave her stranded in her room while her brother had a blast for the next three months.

 _Your summer depends on it_ , she echoed her pal Soos from back at the Mystery Shack as she inched the open scissor blades closer to her handful of hair. _Your_ _future_ _depends on it._

* * *

"Hey Mabel, I'm back!" Dipper pushed open the door to his sister's room. "I got grape soda, your favorite!" He attempted to toss and catch the can one-handed, only to have it slip from his fingers and clatter loudly on the wood floor. "Might not wanna open that for awhile…" He glanced around the room, noticing for the first time that it was vacant. "Mabel?" Stepping carefully over a pile of sweaters and skittering around a paint-filled pallette, Dipper made his way over to the bathroom and knocked a few times. "You know, a guy could get sucked in like quicksand trying to walk across your floor."

"Sorry, I'll be right out!" Her voice squeaked a bit and he could hear her rummaging around on the other side. He knew that voice, the one she took on when she nearly got caught doing something.

"Mabel, what're you doing in there?" he asked suspiciously.

"Uhh...making up a song to help remember the 43 Presidents?"

"Nice try," Dipper folded his arms across his chest. "You really think I can't tell when you're lying?"

"No I'm serious! I'm definitely not trying to clean up my hair!"

The ridiculousness of her words hit him so hard that it took Dipper a moment to register what she'd said. "Your _hair…_ " He knocked again, this time harder. "Mabel, open the door!"

"Okay! Okay fine, fine - but you have to promise not to freak out or call Mom and Dad or yell so loud your voice cracks."

"Hey, my voice doesn't crack that much anymore!" He cursed himself as it pitched upward briefly, but he was far more concerned with what his sister could possibly be doing behind that door. "Now open up!"

"Promise first!"

"I promise!"

"Okay!" And at last, the door swung open. "Ta-da!"

For the most fleeting of moments, Dipper thought he was looking in a mirror. Then realization dawned on him - he wasn't, nor would he ever wear a bright lavender sweater a size too big for him with a winking emoticon embroidered on the front. His mouth dry, his eyes bugging out of his head, he struggled to form words while gaping at his now _very_ short-haired twin. "Mabel...what did you _do?_ "

"Just came up with the most brilliant plan ever," Mabel beamed proudly. "We don't have to study anymore, Dippin' Sauce, 'cause tomorrow morning you're gonna be posing as beautiful, rip-roarin', fun-loving _me!_ "

Dipper was reeling so badly he thought he might puke on Mabel's rug. "You cut off all your hair..."

"Hey, if it makes you feel any better I'm gonna donate it to charity-"

"You cut off all your hair...so you could cheat?"

"'Cheat' is such a strong, negative word. I like to think of it more as 'beating the system'."

"Which is _cheating!_ " Dipper spat out, shock giving way to irate panic. "You cut your hair so you could use me to cheat on your history exam _and you just assumed I would go along with it like it was no big deal?!_ "

"Take it down a notch, bro-bro, you promised you wouldn't freak."

Dipper knew he had promised, but he took it back. He took it all back, especially when he said Mabel was the smartest person he knew. Because this had to be, without a doubt, the stupidest thing she had ever concocted in that dangerously random brain of hers. "Forget it," he shook his head, "I'm not doing this."

"W-what - Dipper!" Mabel's smile vanished and her voice heightened desperately. "Listen, this isn't as hard as you think it's gonna be. It's just exams this week, no classes. You just have to take the test, you don't even have to talk to anyone. We'll switch back right afterwards!"

"No."

"C'mon, how much longer do you think we'll be able to do this twin switch thing? We're getting older - you're gonna get taller, I'm gonna get even _more_ beautiful than I already am, this is our last chance. Besides we've already been in each other's bodies-"

"Oh you had to bring _that_ up," Dipper pinched the bridge of his nose as those unpleasant memories resurfaced.

"-if we can fool Grunkle Stan, we can fool anyone!"

"Mabel, _no_. I'll help you study, I'll write up flashcards for you, but I am _not_ taking it for you."

"Dipper c'mon-"

" _No!_ Did it ever cross your mind what Mom and Dad are gonna say when they see your hair?"

"I'll sneak out early tomorrow morning, then tell 'em I got a haircut afterwards, " Mabel nodded, proud of herself for covering all her bases.

"Okay, say I _did_ decide to go along with this, what happens if we get caught?"

"We're not gonna get caught!" Mabel sighed exasperatedly, bending down to rummage through the clothes on her floor. "Here, put this on." She flung a light blue sweater with a cat face on it at Dipper, followed by a purple skirt and leggings.

"And I'm _definitely_ not wearing your itchy sweaters!" Dipper dropped it almost disgustedly.

"Dipper, _please!_ " She was physically on her knees now, hands clasped together as she gazed up at him with giant pleading eyes - a gaze her brother had yet to be able to resist. "I'm a hopeless case. I've been trying as hard as I can but...I can't learn it all overnight. Am I to be punished because our educational system doesn't accept my unique learning quirks?"

"Wow, that's deep," Dipper admitted.

"You said you'd do anything and everything you could to make sure I'd pass, no matter what," Mabel's eyes shone more brightly. "This is the only way."

Dipper closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. He _had_ said that. Leave it to Mabel to find a loophole in his reasoning. Every part of him was screaming that this was a bad idea - a downright terrible idea - except for one: His heart. The part that loved his sister boundlessly and unconditionally. She needed him, she was _begging_ him, clutching the hem of his shirt. And Mabel always came first...even before his conscience.

He finally exhaled, taking off his pine tree cap and putting on her head. "You owe me _big_ time."

Mabel squealed as she leapt up into his arms, "Thank you, thank you, _thank you!_ " Pulling away from him, she snapped into overdrive now that she had gotten her twin's consent. "Okay put on the sweater, I know I have some clip-on earrings somewhere-"

"So what are you gonna do about - um - your-?" Dipper awkwardly cupped his hands around his chest, blushing bright red, and Mabel laughed at his embarrassment.

"Relax silly, I've got a sports bra. So you're in Room B14 with the rest of the fourth period history class, I guess I'll just hang around the student lounge until you're done-"

"And don't talk to _anyone_ ," Dipper warned her, throwing the sweater on over his head as he tossed his vest and t-shirt in her direction. "Especially not any of the AP guys, they'll know immediately that you're not me." He gingerly picked up the skirt and stepped into it, "Aw man, this is so _weird_."

"But so _fun_ at the same time, right?" Mabel poked him in the arm with a sly grin.

"No, no, mostly weird." Dipper sighed as he clipped Mabel's triangle earrings to his ears.

"These shorts have _real pockets!_ " Mabel exclaimed happily.

"I draw the line at makeup!"

"When's the last time you _washed_ this shirt?"

"Oh no, what about your braces?!"

"Just keep your mouth closed!"

Back and forth this went for what felt like ages, until finally they both stood looking in the bathroom mirror. Only someone who knew the twins as well as they knew each other could tell they had switched places. Dipper smiled a wide braces-less Mabel smile while his sister scrunched up her brow into his "thinking face."

"We got this," Mabel said confidently.

"Yeah, maybe we do…" Dipper said carefully, hoping he wouldn't regret saying that later.

* * *

"Mabel Pines?"

Dipper sat at his desk, fumbling through Mabel's backpack looking for a pencil. _How does she find anything in here?_ he thought in distress as he waded his hands through crumpled paper, unraveling balls of yarn and - he could have sworn - wet paint that had leaked. Pretending to be his sister hadn't been too difficult so far. As long as he smiled and waved energetically while shoving the occasional gummy bear up his nose, people seemed to be fooled. A few people were gawking at his "haircut", but true to Mabel's style he pretended not to see them. _He_ was the paranoid one who cared about what other people thought, not her.

"Mabel Pines?" the slightly annoyed voice of the nasally exam moderator sighed, and Dipper's head snapped up.

"Here!" he said in a raspy falsetto he hoped sounded like Mabel's unique voice. _Yeah, that didn't look suspicious at all._ But the moderator, who Dipper recognized as the ninth grade algebra teacher, just shook her head.

"Daydreaming, like always." Some people giggled at her remark and Dipper cringed inwardly. Mabel had certainly left her mark on her classes, and not in a good way. And he'd had no idea about it. The twins hadn't shared a single class together that year - Dipper was taking eleventh grade precalculus for crying out loud - so he hadn't known that his sister wasn't highly regarded. She never talked about that stuff. He was sure it must have bothered her, but by the time she met up with him at lunch or after school she had probably forgotten all about it. Until the next day. And every day after that. And suddenly Dipper felt more sorry for Mabel than he ever had before. _Talk about taking a walk in someone else's shoes…_

He glanced around and saw a familiar face in the far back corner, one of Mabel's friends from her art class she had brought around the house several times. Dipper remembered her distinctly because she had tiny jewels woven into her dreadlocks and wore enough costume jewelry to profit an art fair. The girl caught his eye and waved, and Dipper remembered to keep his lips closed as he smiled and waved back. _Love your hair!_ she mouthed enthusiastically indicating her own dreads, and Dipper gave her a thumbs up. _Thumbs up? Oh crap. Does Mabel do that? I don't think she does. Maybe? Why do I not know this?! You'd think after fifteen years together I'd have picked up on all her little nuances by now! Get it together, Dipping Sauce!_ He relaxed as he involuntarily conjured up the affectionate nickname Mabel had given him years ago. _Alright, back on track._ He began to wipe the beads of sweat off his forehead, then halted as his blood pressure shot up again. _Oh no!_ Pulling his hand away, he saw beige foundation smudged on his wrist - the makeup Mabel had used to cover up his birthmark! He brushed his sweat-soaked bangs forward more just as the moderator passed his desk, handing him an exam packet and a scantron sheet. _Hurry up - let's just get this over with!_

"There are sixty multiple choice questions and two essays. You will have an hour to complete the exam." _The regular class gets multiple choice? Lucky them,_ Dipper managed to think amidst his panic. He hoped no one could see his pounding heart about to burst through Mabel's cat-faced sweater. _How does she not die of heatstroke in these things?!_

"You may begin...now." Dipper flipped the test paper over so fast he almost flung it off his desk. Scanning his eyes over the page, his exhaled slowly. He knew all the answers. He flipped the page - he knew all those, too. It was the same material he'd learned, only simplified. _Yes, I can do this...I can do this._ He sped through the first ten questions, then stopped. He had to take his time because Mabel would struggle, and those around him needed to physically see that. So he paused occasionally, scrunched up his face in thought, even let out a despairing sigh every once in awhile. One of the smarter girls in the class brought her paper up to the front after a half an hour had past, smirking cruelly at him as she brushed past his seat. And this time Dipper really did pause. Was this it? Was Mabel, his sister who he loved more than anyone else, who had so much to offer, just a _joke_ to her classmates? Did no one, not even her teachers, take her seriously because they thought she didn't take her schoolwork seriously?

 _Oh man, Mabel...I really had no idea._

* * *

Ten more minutes and she and Dipper were home free, and Mabel would be back in her comfy warm sweater, because the student lounge was a little too drafty for her as she sat in Dipper's orange t-shirt and khaki shorts. Burying her nose in a mystery novel, Mabel tried not to talk to or make eye contact with anyone. Which became _excruciatingly_ difficult when it was discovered someone had sneaked in a newborn puppy and a crowd of girls had gathered to coo and pet it. _Seriously?! Of all the days to - ugh, whatever. Dip'll be back soon, I'll change clothes and_ _then_ _I can play with it!_ Reminding herself that this whole thing had been her idea to begin with, Mabel concentrated on the book in front of her. Which was actually pretty good, she had to admit. There were vampires, but they were the old-fashioned kind instead of the hunky kind. And the old guy who might or might not be the villain sort of reminded her of her Grunkle Stan, the way he could come up with lies in less than a second. Mabel had not been blessed with such a gift, and she found that it caused her a lot more harm than good sometimes.

Like now, when three of the guys in Dipper's AP crowd entered the lounge talking and laughing loudly, one plugging away at a hand-held game. Mabel slouched down lower in her seat. _Don't move. Maybe they can't see you-_

"Hey Dipper! C'mon, let's do this! You and me versus Ryan and Arch!" She peeked up quickly to see the boys gathered around the ping pong table and frowned. The one who had called out to her was Eric Sullivan - the one who always instigated taunts behind her back about her grades. _Why is Dipper even friends with that jerk? With_ _any_ _of those jerks?_ "Dip? You hidin' over there?"

"Uh yeah," Mabel answered, lowering her voice as deep as she could in her best imitation of her brother. "Sorry, really into this book. Maybe some other time. Gotta wait for my br - uh, _sister_ to get done with her history test."

"Pfft, that'll take awhile," Eric chuckled. "You can squeeze in a game or two 'til then." Mabel felt her blood boil. _They make fun of me_ _right in front of Dipper_ _? Does...doesn't he ever stick up for me?_ She felt a lump start to form in her throat but she swallowed it down far enough to reply.

"Fine, one game." And then common sense finally reared its ugly head in. _Mabel, what are you doing? You're_ _terrible_ _at ping pong! They're gonna realize we switched if you play!_ But pure brawn propelled her forward towards the table - the side of her that wanted to bash Eric Sullivan's face in with the paddle. "Best three out of five."

That didn't take long at all, as the boys were quick to figure out. They all stood with their mouths open as Mabel magnificently failed to return every serve, culminating in her wiping out face first on the table. She laughed her best nervous Dipper laugh as Eric gave her an odd look. "Yeah, uh...like I said, not really feelin' it today." _Why did I ever think this was a good idea? I'm the worst liar in the world! Anytime you wanna show up would be_ _great_ _, Dipper._

"We've all got off days, or in your case _spectacularly_ off days," Eric laughed, thumping Mabel on the back. He pulled his hand back just as quickly, his odd look becoming more pronounced - and Mabel instantly knew why. "Are you wearing a br-?"

"Brace! Back brace!" she shouted desperately, her voice thankfully crackling appropriately. "Got some scoliosis going on there, ya know?"

"Thcoliosis?" Arch snickered, and Mabel bit the inside of her cheek anxiously - she'd let her lisp slip out. "You're picking up some habits from your sister, dude. You guys got that weird twin telepathy thing going on or something?"

"Uh, sometimes," Mabel glanced around nervously. _I wish. Then I'd know if he was on his way back._

"Wait, open your mouth again," Ryan pointed at Mabel's now firmly closed lips. "You got something on your teeth."

 _Gosh dang it to heck!_

"Dipper!" Mabel's voice - or rather an imitation of her voice - rang out like the chorus of a thousand angels coming to pull Mabel out of this hellhole she had dug herself into. Waving her over from the lounge doorway was Dipper, looking simultaneously elated and frantic.

"What'd she do to her hair?" Eric was almost doubled over now. "Cut it like yours to channel your intelligence?"

"Puh-lease, even Mabel wouldn't come up with something _that_ insane." And with that she purposely lobbed her foot against Eric's shin as she stalked towards her brother, braces beaming brightly once she was away from the boys.

"What are you doing?!" Dipper hissed as they scurried into an empty locker room to change, throwing the sweater off first. "I told you not to talk to those guys!"

"I had to do _something_ , you were taking too long!" Mabel insisted, flinging his cap and vest at him. "Why did you take too long?!"

"Because I was being _you_!" Dipper explained. "I could've finished that test in like twenty minutes, but I didn't 'cause that's not what _Mabel_ would've done."

"It doesn't matter, it's over now," Mabel soothed him as she finished dressing herself. "Eww Dip, this sweater is _soaked!_ Why do you sweat so much?"

"Oh I'm sorry, was I supposed to be _calm_ while spontaneously pretending to be my sister? My cheeks still hurt from all the smiling, and it's almost impossible to imitate your voice!"

"I can't believe I thought I could pull this off, I'm a terrible liar! And then your stupid friends showed up. And there was a puppy! Do you have any idea how hard it was to hold myself back from practically taking it home with me?! _A puppy, Dipper!_ "

"Okay now you're the one who needs to relax," Dipper stepped back, a little alarmed by Mabel's outburst. "Don't worry, that test was a cakewalk. There's no way you - er, I - didn't do well and now everything can go back to normal."

"And you can go back to hanging out with your poophead friends." The tone in Mabel's voice sliced through Dipper like a knife, and he turned slowly to look at her, his gaze softening.

"Mabel listen, in the classroom today-"

"Forget it, it's done." She met his gaze, reaching up to twist her hair like she did when she felt insecure - only to realize it wasn't there anymore. She bit her lip, clenching her fists as she let them drop. "Thanks for doing this for me, Dipper. You're the best brother a girl could ask for." Her voice broke slightly on the last sentence and she brushed past him out into the hallway. Dipper watched her go helplessly, then looked back at the guys gathered around the ping pong table. He didn't know which he felt worse about: Not getting the chance to tell Mabel he now knew how awful her classroom environment had been, or seeing that something the guys - or specifically Eric - had said clearly upset her.

* * *

" _B-minus!_ B-minus, B-minus, B-minus-!"

"Okay, okay, chill Mabel!" Dipper attempted to shout over her, but she was too far gone leaping up and down waving her report card around in celebration when they received them in the mail a week later. He of course had gotten straight-A's as usual, but Mabel's vastly improved history grade was a big deal to her - and to an extent a big deal to Dipper considering it was his doing.

"This is the greatest day of my life!" Mabel squealed. "The! Greatest! Day!"

"You said that about the day Mom bought three gallons of ice cream instead of the usual two," Dipper rolled his eyes, just as Mabel bounded towards him and latched her arms around his neck.

"Thanks bro-bro," she hissed in his ear in case one of their parents heard them from the other room, and Dipper returned the hug.

"You're welcome," he replied with a smile. "I couldn't leave you hanging, Mabel." She seemed to be feeling better after the day of the exam, as if nothing happened, which to be fair was typical Mabel. This left Dipper to wonder if she was letting it blow over or if was all going to come spilling out later in one of her rare moments of vulnerability. Either way, he knew he was going to have to be the one to break the ice - since it began with his discovery while being in her shoes. "Hey look, there's been something I wanted to talk about."

"What's up?" Mabel pulled away from him, looking back down at the report card in her hands.

"Uh...how do I start this?" Dipper rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "That day when I was pretending to be you, I noticed some stuff that-"

"Hey, that's weird." Mabel pulled apart two pieces of paper, one having been stuck undiscovered to the back of her grades. "Did you get one of these?"

"No," Dipper shook his head, double checking his own report card.

" _Dear Mr. and Mrs. Pines, We are requesting a conference with you either by phone or in person. Please contact the office at your earliest convenience_." Mabel glanced up at her brother. "Why do they wanna talk to Mom and Dad?"

"It can't be for a good reason," Dipper felt his insides freeze solid as he met her gaze. "Which means there's only one reason it could be…"

* * *

" _Mabel Evelyn Pines! What on earth were you thinking?!"_

" _What made you believe you could get away with a stunt like that?!"_

" _And_ _you_ _, Dipper! Taking an exam in your sister's place - we know you have more sense than that!"_

" _Both of you, upstairs to your rooms! We'll figure out what to do with you two in the morning!"_

" _You're both grounded for the entire summer!"_

That had been a half an hour ago, and Mabel still felt as terrible now as she had then. Lying on her bed with her head and legs curled up inside her greyish blue sweater, she resigned to never come up with a scheme, or even an idea, ever again as long as she lived. It wasn't getting grounded herself that grieved her, but more the fact that she had dragged Dipper down with her. He had definitely been looking forward to long nights of gaming with the guys, going out to see all the latest movie franchise installments being released and video chatting with Soos, Wendy or Pacifica back in Gravity Falls. Now he wasn't going to get to do any of that and it was all her fault. He hadn't said a word to her after their parents' blowup at them and Mabel wouldn't blame him if he never did again. This was the worst thing she'd ever done to the both of them - and she was the worst sister a guy could ask for.

Slowly unfurling her body from within the soft comforting fabric, her eyes resurfaced from her turtleneck to see that night had fallen. Moonlight streaked through her sheer pink-curtained windows, and with a clear sky like that, Mabel could slightly make out the Big Dipper - her brother's namesake constellation. And at the very least, she knew she needed to apologize to him. Dragging herself over to her bathroom door in an uncharacteristic state of dread and despair, she crossed through the bathroom to the door on the opposite side and gently pushed it open. The light was on in the neat orderly room that made hers look like a crime scene, and Dipper sat on the bed with his back leaning against his headboard intently reading a thick novel.

"Hey," he grumbled without looking up when he heard her come in, relieving Mabel a little bit. He was definitely mad, but not mad enough to give her the silent treatment. And she could tell that he knew just how badly she was feeling about the whole thing - somehow, she could just tell. _Like that twin telepathy thing Arch was talking about._ Still, that didn't help decrease the lump in her throat as she walked closer to his bed and sat down beside him.

"So... _yikes_."

"Yeah. Yikes." His eyes had stopped scanning the page he was on, but he still didn't look up.

"I'm sorry, Dipper!" Mabel burst out, nearly scaring him out of his skin. "I'm really really sorry about everything! I should've just flunked the test and gone to summer school like I was supposed to, anything would've been better than using you like I did. I _always_ wind up using you for stuff and it's not fair and now it got us _both_ in trouble. I-" Her face scrunched up and she looked quickly down in her lap, her voice beginning to shake. "I told you I wasn't gonna do that to you anymore but I just get these stupid _stupid_ ideas in my head and I think 'hey, if anyone's gonna go along with my dumb plan, it's my twin brother!' and I just expect that and - and this one is totally the worst one yet and I'm - I'm just really sorry!"

"Really, this is the worst?" Dipper finally shut the book and gave her his full attention once her words began to catch in her throat. "Worse than the sock puppet show when Bill possessed my body?"

Mabel thought on that for a second, "Well-"

"Worse than Gideon and everything he tried to do to us?"

"Maybe not-"

" _Worse_ than when you trusted Grunkle Stan over me and let his portal open?"

"Okay, definitely not as bad as _that_ one," Mabel finally relented. Dipper sat up straighter and she took that as her cue to slide closer to him. "But...still pretty bad."

"Mabel, if you're worried that I'm mad at you, don't be," Dipper placed his hand over hers as she sniffled, wiping her nose on her sleeve. "I am mad, but not at you. More at the teachers than anything. And Mom and Dad, for not understanding you like I do. You're bad with tests, you struggle with memorization. You're a more hands-on learner than book smart. That doesn't mean you're dumb or anything. I mean c'mon, your quick thinking's saved us more times than I can count." Mabel's watering eyes met his and he shook his head, " _You're not stupid_ , Mabel. Your plan was pretty stupid, but you're not."

"But your friends always-"

"They're not my friends," Dipper cut her off. "Not really. They just kinda pulled me into their group when they saw how smart I was, they pressure me to hang with them. At first it was great, ya know? I thought maybe I'd found a group I clicked with. We liked the same books, the same movies, same games, and they seemed to actually like me. But…" He shifted uncomfortably until he was sitting cross-legged, now his turn to stare into his lap and avoid his sibling's gaze. "The longer I hung out with them, the more I saw how much they put other people down. And they enjoyed it. Like they saw themselves on a higher plane than everyone else in our class, and I started feeling _super_ awkward around them 'cause…"

""Cause what?" Mabel asked, her wide curious eyes growing more concerned.

"'Cause sometimes I think like that, okay?" Dipper finally spilled out, pressing the heels of his hands against his eyes. "Sometimes I think I'm smarter, more observant, more perceptive than other people, so I feel like I'm a better person. I know it's wrong to think like that, but in the back of my mind I do. And whenever I hung out with those guys it - I dunno - it brought out the worst in me."

"Dipper, we all think bad stuff sometimes," Mabel reached out and gripped his shoulder. "You don't have to beat yourself up over it, it just makes you human."

"No," Dipper kept shaking his head. "It wasn't right to keep hanging out with those guys once they started picking at you. I can't believe it took me 'til _then_ to figure out what I was doing was wrong. I kept telling them to lay off you, but after I saw how you reacted last week when you were in my place, I knew they hadn't stopped."

The corners of Mabel's mouth finally turned upward. "You told them to lay off me? You stuck up for me?"

"Of course I did," Dipper replied without any hesitation. "No one - and I mean _no one_ \- messes with my twin sister."

"And - and I was moping around thinking when you were with them, you didn't care anymore. Why - why would I _think_ that?" Mabel sniffled harder as big tears started to trickle down her round cheeks, and Dipper leaned forward to wrap her up in a hug.

"I'm the one who's sorry, Mabel. I'm sorry I didn't see how tough freshman year was for you earlier. I'm sorry I didn't see how snobby your teachers and classmates could be to you until...well, I _was_ you. And I promise next year I'm gonna do better."

"Me too," Mabel rubbed her runny nose against his shoulder as she returned her brother's hold on her in a crushing grip. "It wasn't _all_ the guys bothering me though. Mostly that Eric."

"Pfft - _Eric_ ," Dipper snorted as he pulled back from her. "He's not even that smart! His dad's on the school board so he gets special perks - like being in the AP classes. He's completely self-absorbed, those other guys just follow him around 'cause they don't have brains to think for themselves and he only teases about your grades to hide his enormous crush on y-" He clapped a hand to his mouth suddenly, his eyes about to pop out of his skull, but Mabel had heard enough to put the pieces together.

"Hold up. Eric...has a _crush_ on me?"

"You weren't supposed to know that," Dipper muttered, half to himself. "Why did I say that, why did I _say that_ -?"

"He _likes_ me?" A giant cheshire cat-like grin was spreading on Mabel's face and Dipper groaned, mentally smacking himself.

"Yes," he gave in. "His sister's a junior, she's in my Calculus class. I brought up how much he was picking on you and she told me he really likes you and asked me not to tell anyone but - yeah, that's why."

Mabel's demeanor had now changed completely, her eyes glazed over dreamily and she tucked her short hair behind her ears, giggling to herself. "Wonder if he likes pigs and glitter and spending a romantic evening eating an entire tub of frosting…"

"Mabel," Dipper said warningly, "Don't throw yourself at him, then he's gonna _know_ I told you."

" _Blaaaarg_ \- okay," Mabel reluctantly agreed. "But I'm still gonna make him a sweater." She held out her fist for him, "So...we're cool now?"

"Yeah, we're cool," Dipper bumped her fist lightly. "Mystery Twins forever?"

"Mystery Twins forever," Mabel nodded, then laughed as she reached up to feel her short hair. "Especially _now_."

"Yeah, that's gonna take some getting used to," Dipper chuckled. "Might as well just draw a dipper on your forehead."

Mabel gasped, "Maybe I _should_ -"

"Joking! I was joking!" Dipper waved his hands frantically, shaking his head. "You got off easy this time. The grades are final so they have to pass you to sophomore year. Let's not press our luck by trying this switch thing again." They heard the phone ring downstairs and both flopped lazily back on the bed, refusing to get up and answer it - only to have their mother call up the stairs a few moments later.

"Kids! Telephone!"

"You get it," the twins said at the same time.

"It's your great-uncle Stan!"

" _I got it!_ " Stampeding into the hallway, each tried to trip up the other as they both made a mad dash for the upstairs cordless phone. Dipper got to it first after he ripped the receiver out of Mabel's hands.

"Grunkle Stan?!" he exclaimed, Mabel throwing herself over his shoulders to yell into the phone, "Hi Grunkle Stan!"

"Kids! Man, it's good to hear your voices again," came the gruff yet joyous reply of their great-uncle. "How the heck ya been? How's that chest hair comin', Dipper?"

"Eh, it's...coming," Dipper replied sheepishly.

"He means 'bad.'"

"Mabel!"

"Haha, that's my girl - tellin' it like it is," Stan chortled heartily into the phone. "So when you kids comin' back this summer? Soos and Wendy miss you like crazy! And me, I guess - I kinda sorta miss you, too."

"Aww, you're just a big ol' softie, Grunkle Stan," Mabel said warmly.

"Uh, about that...I don't think we're gonna be making it back this year," Dipper said sadly.

"What?!" Two voices in the background gasped and moaned unhappily yelling "This sucks, dude!" and "Everything's terrible forever!"

"Sorry guys," Mabel added, "But we're grounded for the whole summer."

"But you're good kids - what the heck did you do to get yourselves grounded for three months?" So Mabel, since she took full responsibility, launched into the story. Once she finished, Stan didn't say anything for a minute.

"Grunkle Stan? You still there?" Dipper asked, thinking they lost the phone connection.

"Yeah I'm still here," came his stern reply, and the twins recoiled thinking they were about to receive another lecture. "And I just gotta say that...that I'm _so proud_ of you two!"

"You are?" Dipper raised his eyebrow as Mabel beamed brightly.

"Seriously I'm gettin' choked up over here! Kids after my own heart! Your great-uncle Ford and I used to pull the old twin switch all the time, and got in all kinds of trouble for it. Trust me though, you might feel bad now, but someday you're gonna look back on this and remember that even though ya got caught, at least ya got caught side by side."

Dipper glanced over his shoulder at Mabel and they grinned. Maybe for once in one of those rare instances, their Grunkle had actually given them some sound words to live by.

 _The End_


End file.
